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Newsletter for Summer 2010 Recipients of the hard paper copy of the newsletter will notice that there are two blanks pages...as well as a "mea Culpa" from me that I did not have room for some items. The reason for the dichotomy is simple, a mis-communication between myself and the publisher.
Once
again, mea culpa and apologies to those contributors whose MS did
not get used "for lack of space." |
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Dear Fellow Guardsmen Summer 2010 FIRST WORDS I wish to thank all those who contributed material to the tribute for RSM J.J.T.McManus, accompanying this newsletter. I regret there was not room to publish all the material. That which was published required some editing to fit the space available for which, if I have offended, I apologize. I wish to especially thank journalist Buzz Bourdon for allowing me to extract material from his obituary of Mr. McManus ( published in the Globe and Mail, May 3rd,2010). To Guardsmen Steve Brodsky, Nick Puddicombe, Howie Pierce, Bill Patterson, Franks Rodgers, John Hayter, Gerry Wharton, JAS Haley, inter alia, my thanks again - as usual you have collectively made it easy for me to do my thing. I hope that you all will have a broader insight into the man and come to a better appreciation of the effect that Mr. McManus had on us all, whatever your situation was when you first encountered this extraordinary soldier. For those of you who came to the Depot after he had left, we hope you will understand that we trained you as we did, in our attempt to instill in you what he instilled in us. A Mari Usque ad Mare IN MEMORIAM We send our sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the family, friends and comrades of the following members of the Regimental Family of whose passing we have been advised since our last newsletter. Ronald Cheriton, Ronald Hugh Claricoates, Bernard Craig, Len Eldridge, James Gordon, R. Gordon Haynes, Roger St. Jean, Frank Kreitzer, Roger Frederick Lovean, Charles Martin (son of Ernie Martin), J.J.T.McManus and Marcel Perrault. " ...... to thy gentle sleep be gone, and may fair weather be your guide..."( anon) REPORTS Band: Bob Bertuzzi - information provided by his son, Ian. Ed Barlow, a former member of the Guards Band now retired, sent us a change of address notice along with the following "trivia": "Some time ago, I wrote a march called "Unity" dedicated to the memory of Col. John McCrae. I had been a member of Legion Branch 547, in Calgary, and the Branch put forward that march to Legion Headquarters, suggesting that it be officially adopted. I was greatly honored as the 2008 Legion Convention adopted "Unity" as the official Legion March. I have completed optional bagpipe parts and copies of "Unity" are available through local Legion Branches. Congratulations Ed on your accomplishment and we send you a very worthy Regimental "Well done that man!" Petawawa Branch advises, "The Canadian Guards Regimental Association, 401 Wooler Road exit, hosts a Home Station Reunion, with a touch of Germany, 29 to 31 July, 2011. More info to come." (We hope more detailed info will become available before our next edition) Reunion 2009 - Reconciliation: The Reunion Working Group pledged that the event would be ‘Revenue Neutral’ but, try as they might, it did not turn out that way. Receipts for event totaled $16,978, Expenses, including refunds, totaled $16, 967.02, for a net surplus of $ 10.98. This windfall was deposited in the Association general account. Al Johnston, Secretary/Treasurer. Another "well done!" to that group - 0.005% error in estimates is way beyond excellent! Barbara Kynock. "I am the former Secretary with the Atlantic Branch and have been working with veterans and their widows for over 20 years. The very first stand - alone disability pension for Tinnitus was awarded to a Canadian Guardsman in Nova Scotia in 2003. In was 2006 before VAC caught up to their records. (see next letter for explanation) Anyone who feels Tinnitus is an interference to their hearing&ldots;and psychologically distressing should see a specialist &ldots;.not all of them have the new technology which can determine the level of buzzing, chirping, et al. You must also be able to prove that your service noise trauma...... resulted in this condition. VAC us the Merck Manual for many diagnostic conditions and you can also use the VAC Table of Disabilities under "hearing" to see their criteria........ Tinnitus is a tough one, but it can be done." Thank you, Barbara, for your continuing good work on this. Janice Summerby - VAC." ............We have for many years provided disability benefits for hearing loss and ear impairment, which includes Tinnitus. The only change is that, since 2006, VAC has recognized Tinnitus ( an inner ear condition) as a separate disability, rather than part of an overall hearing loss... If any (of your members) have a hearing loss or ear impairment as a result of military service, they may qualify for a disability benefit and should contact VAC at 1-866-522-2122............Yours sincerely, Janice Summerby. Thank you Janice, we try to keep our membership informed. As you can see from the foregoing letter, we have many dedicated members who are working towards the same goal. The 2nd "Army Run" went off in September 2009, and The Association sponsored two runners in the amount of $ 150.00. Some time before the run, "The Canadian Guards Lunch Group", as the old codgers who gather at the Fox and Feather are formally known, had a quick ‘whip around’ which we then passed on to Heather (Inrig) Guylas - our representative on the run. Lo and behold, early in the New Year we got a (collective) Tax Receipt! It will be entered into the archives of the CGLG, contained in a small envelope which is folded and holds up the short leg of a chair in the Fox & Feather - CGLG room. CORRESPONDENTS Stephen Douglas: In July 1967, the 2nd Battalion was "Changing the Guard" on Parliament Hill and providing a Guard of Honour for all the Heads of State’s arrivals and departures as they came through Ottawa before or after their visit to Expo 67. At our farewell smoker in the Junior Ranks Club in Uplands, the MC was George Hickey. After much FREE beer, George sang a song which covered the summer’s events. When we were in Clarenville, at ‘Bernie’s’ 2009 Atlantic Reunion, I asked George if he remembered the song from so long ago. Did he!!! He not only sang the song but had his wife Elsie write down the words. While Elsie was writing the band was playing "the squid jiggin’ grounds" and George said, "That’s the tune I sang it to!" For those of you who remember that night and all those who weren’t there, here’s the song, after 43 years!
Now this is the place where the Guardsmen all gather,
Now when we get inspected we’re never neglected,
The girls in their minis are tall, fat or skinny
It’s Centennial Year with all the Royalty here,
And now its all over, the boys look to October, This song was written and performed by George Orville Hickey on at least two occasions. Now that we have the words and music, we hope it gets performed more often. Well done George and thanks to Stephen Douglas for passing it on to the rest of the Regimental Family. Ellen Corbett. Thanks for your note. We all hope that the stem-cell transplant worked and that Matt is recovering. We send our thoughts and prayers to you both and wish you Godspeed. Glen Forbes. Thanks for dues and the kind words. JAS Haley. Thanks for the info on "The Guardsman", as follows: "The Guardsman is graceful and manly in appearance, mild in demeanor, a Gentleman in quarters and a Lion in the field." and " Training makes the Soldier, but only spirit can produce a Guardsman." As they say in the papers: with files from Anne, Margaret, Bruce Gilchrist, Frank Patrick, Jeff Sawchuck and Steve Brodsky. My very special thanks to Mal Knocker for "Beneath the Vigils" and other pictures and articles; To Ernie Martin in Guatamala for the ‘Guatamalan Postal Report’ and Canadian Embassy shenanigans. We send you our condolences on the death of your son Charles; and once again, Steve Brodsky for his, "Serendipity from Germany Years." It’s quite amazing that close connections can still be made after so many years and over so many miles. But I have saved your submissions and may yet find room for you all! FROM THE PRESIDENT I am writing this early on the morning of our Nation’s 143rd Birthday and it seems as if it was just yesterday that we were celebrating our 100th at Expo 67. In any case, time goes by and, unfortunately, we must move from the joys of holidays to more serious things. You have seen the tribute to one of the Depot originals, RSM Jim McManus, but another of those Depot founders has also passed on, Major-General (Retired) Ron Cheriton. Ron was always the perfect gentleman and a soldier who kept himself fit at all times. I first met him some 45 years ago in Picton. Ron had joined the 1st Battalion as a Company 2IC, just before the Battalion trekked off for a tour in Cyprus. We enjoyed that tour keeping the peace and between duties enjoying relaxing times in various establishments about the island. And, depending on your position in the hierarchy, trying to stay clear of the CO or the RSM. Some years later, he and I were posted into the 2nd Battalion as Commanding Officer and Company Commander respectively. No will ever forget the overseas exercises as ACE Mobile Force, or the exercises at home in the bush of Quebec and Ontario. But during the October Crisis we were brought back to reality, as we deployed ‘for real’ in our own country on operations that affected the future of our Nation. "Colonel Ron" (to us in those days) led us brilliantly throughout our deployment. He was clearly destined for upward mobility. But I knew him as a brother officer and friend. Perhaps a view from a different perspective can give a better picture of his early days. Howie Pierce " This reminiscence started at his funeral at Beechwood Cemetery, as the lay Chaplain guided us through the lifetime of Ron Cheriton - family man, statesman, soldier and gentleman. I arrived, along with a gaggle of other recruits, at the bare Petawawa train station in the mid-fifties, to begin my Army life being trained at the recently opened Guards Depot. It had been described as a cookie-cutter copy from the British Guards Regiment. But we soon learned that it was not so, the Canadian version required a real commitment to become a Guardsman. Lt. Cheriton, then on Depot Staff, was assigned as our Platoon Commander. He introduced us to the Military in a gentle and intelligent manner, taking away the fear factor and the threats of losing the very freedoms we had sworn to protect. In this strange new place we found ourselves, his quiet personal demeanor was a very different approach from all the shouting of "Put that man in the book!!" and rude language around us. He was the constant reminder that our lives were not ours anymore - they belonged to The Regiment. He had a genuine concern for us and he was able to settle us down, encouraged us to believe in ourselves and never to give in, but meet challenges head-on. He also advised us to seek out help when we needed it because it was not a sign of weakness. Lt. Cheriton was indeed a gifted soldier and a gentleman." Ron Cheriton’s brilliant career culminated in promotion to Major-General and posting to Washington as Defence Attaché. There he looked after our National interests in his distinctive diplomatic and gentlemanly fashion. He will be missed. He was a true "Gentleman in Quarters and a Lion in the Field." Ian Douglas LAST WORDS - "Thank you" to all contributors and correspondents and the entire Regimental Family for your readership. " Up the Guards!!" A Mari Usque ad Mare
J.J.T. McManus always wanted to be a soldier. He joined the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (mg), at the tender age of 15. He took to soldiering like a duck to water and by war’s outbreak in 1939 he had been promoted to Sergeant. He went overseas with his unit and in 1941 was promoted to WO2. In 1944, he took part in the D-Day landings and served until the end of the war, taking part in every major battle from France, through Belgium, Holland and Germany. In 1945 he transferred to the Camerons’ 3rd Battalion, promoted to WO1 and appointed RSM and, at age 24, the youngest RSM in the Canadian Army! Post war After the war he stayed in the Service, reverted in rank to WO2 and transferred to the RCR. By 1949 he was promoted to WO1 and was appointed RSM of that Regiment’s 2nd Battalion. After service at home and Korea, in 1953 he accepted transfer to the newly-minted Regiment of Canadian Guards as the first RSM of the Guards Depot. The Guards The Regiment of Canadian Guards was founded in October 1953 as "Canada’s Regiment", with recruits to be drawn from all across the country. Established with four Battalions and a Depot, the Depot Staff began the huge job of creating Standing Orders, Depot organization, methodology, and training standards. This ran concurrently with a group designing Regimental badges, uniforms and accoutrements. While this was in progress, the battalions wore Infantry badges and trained their recruits as best they could. The appointment of WO1 J.J.T. McManus as RSM of The Guards Depot was one of the most inspired postings made during that time. The Guards Depot 1954-1961 As the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Guards Depot, James McManus knew he was ‘on parade’ every minute of the day. He was the perfect picture of an RSM. Over six-feet tall and always immaculately turned out - boots mirror-glossy, uniform creases knife - edged, brass gleaming and three rows of ribbons indicating his long service in war and peace, McManus was a formidable presence. He was the right-hand man of the Depot Commander and responsible for the drill, dress and discipline of the recruits and Depot staff. He also kept his eye on the many junior officers who were on staff and in the battalions, to ensure that they were progressing as they should. In his seven years with the Depot, he inspired thousands of recruits and hundreds of Junior and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and Officers of all ranks, to be the best Guardsmen they could be. His effect on them is still felt today, as you who served with Mr. McManus will attest. Anecdotes Howie Pierce: "I arrived at the Depot in 1955 as an apprehensive recruit. Like it was yesterday, I can still see (and hear) him, standing in front of a bunch of raw recruits trying his best to make us soldiers. He was our top soldier and we wanted to be just like him." Bill Patterson: " McManus was the terror of the recruits. He was expected to do his job with style, character and imagination. Addressed as, "Sir!" by the recruits and non-commissioned staff and by the officers as, "Mr. McManus", he did not tolerate familiarity from anyone." Steve Brodsky: " After each day‘s training, the platoon sergeants would gather with the RSM. One day a recruit had been found wanting and the RSM said, "Who has Recruit Clark?" Two of us answered "I have, sir." "Which of you has Clark R.J.?" Neither of us could answer. " You’ve had this platoon for a week?" said the RSM, "and you don’t know your men’s initials!! Get aboard of yourself!" Many sources: The resurrection of a recruit, who had fainted on a Depot parade, by the simple expedient of telling him to, "REVIVE! man, REVIVE!" The recruit managed to get to his feet. Satisfied that the man had followed orders, McManus had the staff help him off the parade. ( this is the gist of whatever version one heard)
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Tribute " Dear Sylvia and family. On behalf of all the Puddicombes, I wish to express my thoughts and admiration of your husband, lover, father and grandfather. He was an inspirational soldier to all of us in the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, The Royal Canadian Regiment, The Regiment of Canadian Guards, The Royal Military College and, in his retirement, The Brockville Rifles. Jim McManus was, and still is, my inspiration. Through his mastery of communication, he made me feel that being a soldier was the greatest, most special honour with which I could have been blessed. No one will be able to match his quick wit and genuine embodiment of patriotism. We send our deep condolences and our sympathy to you , Sylvia, and all the family of our beloved "Rock", Jim McManus. The Lord will receive him with a smile on his face and pat his shoulder, telling him, " Your duty is complete and very well done, Regimental Sergeant Major!" God Bless his soul, and the Canadian Armed Forces. He was a hero to our soldiers and his wife and family." Major & Mrs. Nicholas Puddicombe, Brockville. "When in the Guards Depot’s early days I arrived as a callow young sergeant instructor, I knew I’d have a challenge joining my betters - Sergeants Nick Puddicombe, Pete Stone, John Doucet - in trying to match the expectations of the living legend, RSM J.J.T. McManus. We were training the recruits who would be the life-blood of the elite new Regiment of Canadian Guards, and Jim was determined that they’d be the best. Only the best. Jim had no patience with weakness of will and he brooked no excuse. He lived - and demanded that others live - by an ethic of total command responsibility for oneself and for the soldiers in one’s care. Jim’s lessons were deservedly harsh but instructive. He never put his subordinates ‘down’, but rather he made us measure ‘up’. Jim was utterly intolerant of error; hard yet scrupulously fair, he wouldn’t tolerate the slightest neglect or abuse of subordinates, or even foul language. But Jim’s sense of humour wasn’t the muted sort. Jim’s laughter was as huge as his stamping steel-shod boots. He was a huge presence among us. And that, in turn, was matched by his compassion. When, some years after our Depot days, I’d arrived at a crisis of decision about the future, I turned to him again. He was College RSM at RMC and he proved unfailingly loyal with the understanding and sage counsel I sought. I left him having a renewed sense of purpose and direction. Since then, as his beneficiary in leadership I have cherished his example of a soldierly kind of love, which has served me well over the years. Now, in my turn, I have been entrusted, both as soldier and scholar, with the nurture of new generations of leaders. Through a mysterious chemistry he inspired me and a generation of others to give a "best" we hadn’t known was in us. In later years and up through the ranks I have often inwardly heard the mantra of command he taught me to live by: "Sergeant, you’re responsible!" He taught us, by example, how to lead. I once told him I owe him more than I can ever repay - and I know I’m not alone in that. His was a precious gift for us to pass on - a legacy that endures in our soldiers today in other far fields where poppies grow. Of course human nature is complex and it would be extraordinary if Jim’s family hasn’t seen more facets to him than I have. But I knew him only as a soldier; I saw his humanity but never flaws. To me he has been an ideal, an inspiration, a comrade, and I have counted it an honour to call him friend and mentor. The proof of all I’ve said here is the bond we’ve had for well over half a century, and my love and respect. Jim will always remain for me a truly great man. A soldier. I share his family’s loss. In the Guards his earlier nickname of "Rocky" had become a title, "The Rock". A biblical parallel is apt: " On him was founded a Regiment" . Steve Brodsky A Mari Usque ad Mare |